Former HHS student OK in Japan

A former Houston High School student stationed with the Navy in Japan is OK following Friday’s massive earthquake.

Duke Pyle, who is living just south of Toyko, said he was hit in the head by his computer monitor during the 8.9 magnitute quake that triggered a tsunami. He was otherwise unharmed.

Officials said earlier Monday that the official death toll from the disaster stands at 1,627 – with more missing. More than 10,000 people are unaccounted for.

Pyle’s sister, Karen McGiboney, is a mail carrier in Houston.

On Monday afternoon, Shirley Hebblethwaite Swenson of Lake Havasu City, Arizona, reported on the Herald’s Facebook page that her grandson, Jackson Wells, is also safe. Wells is the son of former resident Kay Beasley and has been in Japan teaching English. He was briefly evacuated for 24 hours and returned home Sunday.